Family Visitation Letter
Dear Family of God,
We turn on the news and the bombardment begins. A mass shooting, a weak jobs report, a shrinking economy, unrest in various places around the world, political bickering here at home, and on and on it goes. Unfortunately, the turmoil and unrest aren’t limited to the world around us, we have cause for anxiety in our very homes as well. Broken relationships, economic hardship, spiritual struggles and health difficulties; these affect us all. In our family visits this year we will focus on the subject of anxiety and how the Lord would have us deal with it in our lives. To help bring this into focus and prepare for our visit, please consider the following questions:
- What are some things (Financial? Spiritual? Physical?) that you and your family are anxious about?
- How are you dealing with this anxiety?
- What do you think God is teaching you through your anxiety?
- How has God used you to minister to those who have faced anxiety-producing challenges?
In the book of Phillipians we are enjoined to:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Phil 4:4-6
- Does this verse characterize your life? If so, in what way? If not, why not?
- How has Phoenix URC assisted you in living a joyous Christian life?
- What can we do better?
Our Savior is no stranger to suffering so He is fully able to empathize with us.. Again and again throughout the Bible we are reminded by His words and actions that he cares about each of us and will provide all we need. If He be for us, who can be against us?
Do Not Be Anxious
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?g And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matt 6:25-34
We look forward to our visit and may the Lord abundantly bless us as we seek to serve Him together.
